How did R4BIA emerge?

Courtesy of http://www.r4bia.com

The owners of this sign were martyred in Rabia al-Adawiya Square by the military coup that took place in Egypt on July 3, 2013.

The Egyptian people, who wanted to reclaim their beliefs, freedoms, future and the votes they cast for the first elected president in Egypt, launched a collective resistance unprecedented in world history on 28 June in Rabia al-Adawiya Square.

It was there that they made the sign for the first time by raising their four fingers. It never transpired who invented the sign or who came up with the idea for it. When they were asked two months later what the sign meant, they explained: “This is the ‘Rabia sign.’ ‘Rabia’ means four or fourth in the Arabic language. The name of this square comes from Rabia al-Adawiya, a blessed lady among the pious servants of Allah. She received the name Rabia because she was the fourth child in the family. We use the sign to cherish her legacy.”

“The second reason why this sign bears significance is the fact that Mohamed Morsi was the fourth President of Egypt after Gamal Abdel Nasser, Anwar Sadat and Hosni Mubarak. We make the sign to remind people of his presidency.”

“In addition, those who gather in Tahrir Square to support the military coup prefer the V sign made with the two fingers. We cannot be the same as those people. We use and spread the Rabia sign in order to distinguish ourselves from them.”

When pro-democracy demonstrators made this explanation at the early hours of 14 August, the Egyptian army moved into Rabia al-Adawiya to unleash the biggest civilian massacre that history has ever witnessed. It is likely that those few people who explained what the sign meant were martyred as well. This website contains photos and video footage of those who made the sign for the last time, right before the killings.

Following the massacre in Egypt, the Rabia sign came to be better recognized, and from then on began spreading across the entire Muslim world. Within a short span of time, the sign became a symbol adopted by Muslims of every denomination and from all walks of life who stood up against the states in both the East and the West that chose to ignore thousands of civilians subjected to violence in Egypt.

Among the numerous logos designed to represent the Rabia sign, the one with the black hand on a yellow background caught on more quickly than others. People started using it everywhere. 

Noteworthy about the design is that the creators of the logo are said to have used the color yellow in reference to the golden dome of Qubbatus Sakhra Mosque in Jerusalem, Muslims’ first Qiblah, and the color black to signify the black cloth that covers the Kaaba.

The Rabia sign then spread beyond the national borders with the blessing of Rabia martyrs, and became the symbol of the global Muslim community.

The Rabia sign is the symbol of awakening, triggered in response to the massacres, oppression and long-going political, economic and cultural pressure – both in the West and the East – that have targeted Islam and Muslims.

Western concepts such as democracy, human rights, freedom, equality and right to life, often exercised in a double standard, have utterly collapsed in Palestine, Syria, Bosnia and lastly in Egypt. With the spirit of the Rabia sign, these and similar concepts will be reinterpreted based on Islamic principles.

With help of Allah, this awakening will be a source of inspiration for every individual, irrespective of faith and ethnicity, who seeks justice, equality and freedom in this world. Supporting every well-meant effort in search of rights and freedoms that is spread through this sign is an indication of human decency.

The Rabia sign and the blessing of martyrs are reuniting Muslim peoples and nations, isolated within borders that were set by the occupying states of the East and the West. No single country, group or individual claims this sign as their own. Therefore, they felicitously avoid overshadowing the blessings that Allah bestowed on the Muslim world for the sake of the martyrs.

Insha'allah. The global Muslim community will chart its path on its own.

“And rely upon Allah; and sufficient is Allah as Disposer of affairs.” (Surat al-Ahzab, ayah 3)